When I’m tired of cooking dinner, I make a special meal of appetizers. That’s exactly what it sounds like—a few finger foods in lieu of standard meat and veggie fare.
A few weeks ago I decided we needed a bloomin’ onion or our upcoming appetizer dinner. It was the perfect dish!
The trickiest part was slicing the onion. You don’t want to remove the root because that holds the petals together and causes the onion to “bloom.” But a few knife slices in the right places were no problem at all.
But then the petals on this giant onion didn’t want to open up. A short soak in milk softened the onion just enough to fan open.
A basting of eggs and a topping of breadcrumbs with herbs completes the bloomin’ onion before it’s baked. We love spicy cajun seasoning on ours, but Italian herbs or garlic powder would be delicious as well.
After it’s baked to perfection, those bloomin’ petals are practically asking to be pulled off.
Dip in your favorite sauce, such as ketchup, mustard, or bbq sauce. But honestly, I loved the crispy bites of onion and cajun all by itself! Our appetizer meal included this baked bloomin’ onion, a cucumber salad, and our favorite charcuterie board. What will you enjoy with your bloomin’ onion?
Easy Appetizer: Baked Bloomin’ Onion
Skip the fried appetizer. When this bloomin’ onion is baked to perfection, the crispy onion petals practically beg to be pulled off!
Ingredients
- 1 vidalia onion
- 2 cups cold milk
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp cajun seasoning or Italian herbs
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Cut off the top (NOT the root) of the onion, removing about ¼ of an inch. Remove the outer skin and inedible layers.
- Place the cut-side down, and slice the onion into 16 sections, careful not to cut in the center or to the root. (Hint: start by cutting into quarters, then cut each quarter in half, then cut each eight in half.)
- Soak the onion in cold milk for thirty minutes to soften the petals.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine the breadcrumbs and seasonings in a bowl.
- Whisk together the eggs in a separate bowl.
- Remove the onion from the milk and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Baste the egg over every petal of the onion until thoroughly coated.
- Sprinkle and press the breadcrumb mixture over every petal.
- Cover with a tent of foil and bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove the foil tent and bake for another 15 minutes until the onion is tender and the petals are slightly crispy.
- Serve immediately with your desired dipping sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 146Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 934mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 8g
